Tennis Canada

• Player lists announced for Canadian ATP World Tour and WTA stops this summer
• Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, and Petra Kvitova highlight fields
• Early wild cards awarded to Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime, Eugenie Bouchard, Vasek Pospisil, and Denis Shapovalov

Toronto, June 28, 2017 – The top stars of the tennis world are heading to Canada this summer, as Tennis Canada announced Wednesday the official player acceptance lists for the 2017 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Toronto and Montreal. Between both cities, 70 of the Top 75-ranked players will be competing for the prestigious Rogers Cup titles. World No. 1 Andy Murray and 10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal headline the entry list in Montreal, where all of the Top 40 men will be in contention. In Toronto – in the 125^th anniversary of the women’s tournament – 30 of the Top 35 women will be present, including world No. 1 Angelique Kerber, defending champion Simona Halep, and Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko.

“We can’t wait to welcome the best players in the world back to Toronto,” said Karl Hale, Rogers Cup Toronto tournament director. “It has been an incredible season of women’s tennis already, and it’s going to be exciting to see how it will play out at Rogers Cup. This is one of the most important stops of the year for the players, and with the intense competition on court combined with the many off-court enhancements we have planned, we know our fans will have a fantastic time at the event this summer.”

“We have another amazing player field this year and our fans are in for a real treat with the current leaders of men’s tennis set to take on the next generation,” said Eugene Lapierre, Rogers Cup Montreal tournament director. “No matter who wins it will be a great champion to add to our illustrious list. We’re looking forward to welcoming all the players and the fans back to Montreal in a few weeks from now. It is shaping up to be one of our best tournaments yet.”

Since 2004, Murray, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer have held a near-monopoly on the Rogers Cup men’s title, with only the 2014 tournament (Jo-Wilfried Tsonga) won by another player. All five competitors will be back in Montreal this year to try and claim another Canadian championship, alongside players like world No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, and young guns Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev.

Among the many other athletes set to play in Toronto this August are former champions Caroline Wozniacki (2010) and Petra Kvitova (2012), plus world No. 3 Karolina Pliskova, former world No. 1 Venus Williams, and rising stars Elina Svitolina and Kristina Mladenovic. 

Five Canadians have been confirmed so far for the main draw. Milos Raonic is the lone Canuck to earn a direct entry into the tournament thanks to his No. 6 world ranking. The 2013 Rogers Cup finalist, Raonic is the highest-ranked singles player in Canadian history and he will be a strong contender to go deep in the tournament once again.  

The men’s event has also awarded three wild cards to Felix Auger-Aliassime, Vasek Pospisil, and Denis Shapovalov. Pospisil, a former Rogers Cup semifinalist, is the country’s second-ranked male player at world No. 75. Eighteen-year-old Shapovalov, currently ranked No. 164, will be making his second appearance at Rogers Cup, after debuting last summer with a first-round win over Nick Kyrgios in Toronto, while Auger-Aliassime will be playing the main draw for the first time. The 16-year-old recently became the seventh-youngest player to win an ATP Challenger tournament.

In Toronto, Canada’s top-ranked women’s singles player Eugenie Bouchard is the recipient of a wild card. Currently ranked world No. 61, she will be making her seventh straight Rogers Cup main draw appearance and looking to best her performance from last year when she made the third round. She joins Maria Sharapova, who was previously announced as a wild card.

Please click below to view the complete entry lists. The 56-player fields for both tournaments will be completed at a later date with the addition of the remaining wild cards and qualifiers.
TORONTO
MONTREAL 

The exciting action on-court in Toronto and Montreal will be complemented by several enhancements around the grounds, including new dining offerings, musical performances, and special events. Both tournament sites feature a variety of activities, restaurants, performances, promotions, shopping, and more, providing a world-class sports and entertainment experience. 

Rogers Cup presented by National Bank will welcome the best players of the ATP World Tour from August 4-13 at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal and the top players of the WTA from August 5-13 at Aviva Centre in Toronto. Owned and operated by Tennis Canada, all profits from the tournaments are directed towards growing the sport of tennis across Canada. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit rogerscup.com.

Links:
Official Rogers Cup Site                 rogerscup.com / couperogers.com
Like Rogers Cup                            facebook.com/RogersCup / facebook.com/CoupeRogers
Follow Rogers Cup                        @rogerscup / @couperogers
Official Tennis Canada Site             tenniscanada.com
Like Tennis Canada                       facebook.com/TennisCanada
Follow Tennis Canada                    @TennisCanada
#RogersCup #CoupeRogers

About Rogers Cup presented by National Bank
Rogers Cup presented by National Bank is a Tennis Canada owned and operated world-class tournament celebrating its 125th anniversary of the women’s event from August 5-13, 2017 at Aviva Centre in Toronto and its 137th anniversary of the men’s event from August 4-13, 2017 at Uniprix Stadium in Montreal. As a WTA Premier 5 tournament, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, and US Open Series event, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank will showcase the world’s best players. Rogers Cup presented by National Bank is the third-oldest title in tennis, behind only Wimbledon and the US Open. For more information and tickets visit www.rogerscup.com.

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events, 10 professional ITF-sanctioned events and financially supports 12 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates national junior training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada, please visit our website at www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Media Contacts

Toronto:
Nicole Watts
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
nwatts@tenniscanada.com or 416-665-9777 ext. 4092
Caroline Anderson
Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
canderson@tenniscanada.com or 416-665-9777 ext. 4545 

Montreal: 
Valerie Tetreault
Regional Manager, Communications and Media Relations
vtetreault@tenniscanada.com or 514-273-1515 ext. 6259
Victoria Jaklin
Coordinator, Communications and Media Relations
vjaklin@tenniscanada.com or 514-273-1515 ext. 6291